Have you ever wondered why cookies sometimes turn out flat? Too puffy? Why they are overly brown on the bottom but still gooey inside? What type of pan or liner you should use? Or am I the only one that obsesses about such things? In the event that there is at least one of you [...]Continue Reading

Disclaimer: this post contains a few Amazon affiliate links. Hey there; it’s me, Brian. I am the one whose 2nd job is to eat the serving Mel just photographed for basically every single recipe posted on this blog. I like that role. Can you blame me? Mel asked me to do a quick guest post [...]Continue Reading

Yo, yo, yo! Let’s clarify one thing at the start here: My kids are not perfect eaters! They have been known to gag. And cry. Sometimes they even play dead to avoid eating the tomatoes barely visible in dinner’s pasta. But thankfully, those moments are few and far between. And overall, my kids (ages 9, [...]Continue Reading

Welcome to the second installment of the Wheat/Wheat Grinding 101 series! The first installment is here and talks about the types of wheat, where to buy wheat and what to do with it. Today, I want to delve into a specific part of wheat grinding: The Wheat Grinder. There’s some good stuff here today [...]Continue Reading

Have you ever been put in charge of planning a menu for a large crowd? You know, like for a family reunion, community or church dinner, birthday celebration, baby or child blessing/baptism, etc? If so, you know that creating and carrying out a menu for a large group can be intimidating and kind of stressful [...]Continue Reading

I’ve alluded to this post/series for a while now but I’m more excited than should be deemed rational to finally be bringing you the first installment of the official Wheat and Wheat Grinding 101 series. Perhaps I’m the only one that gets giddy when talking about wheat (Huh? Weird? Me?) but alas, I do and [...]Continue Reading

Brown rice. I love to hate you. I freely acknowledge that brown rice is more nutritious and hearty and good-for-me than its white counterpart but most of the time, it tastes like terrible, crunchy grains of inedible quality or is so mushy it’s disgustingified. The only way I’ve been able to really enjoy brown rice’s [...]Continue Reading

I have a zillion recipes that call for buttermilk (see below for a partial list of favorites). I love the stuff. It adds a delicious flavor to food and because of the acidity, when it is combined with baking soda, little bubbles are released during baking that give a wonderful lightness to baked goods. I [...]Continue Reading

I have to tell you that since moving to our tiny little town stuck in the Northern reaches of Minnesota, I’ve realized that if I don’t start getting in touch with the inner reaches of my resourceful soul (I swear, it’s in here somewhere), I’m going to be in big trouble. Mainly because I don’t [...]Continue Reading

Keeping cooked, shredded chicken on hand is crucial to making dinner night a pleasure and not a pain. There are tons and tons of recipes out there that call for cooked chicken and I’m going to share with you my latest favorite method for getting tender, delicious cooked chicken without a) buying a rotisserie chicken [...]Continue Reading

I get asked frequently how I organize the recipes in my life and thought I’d touch upon that today, as well as give you a few of my favorite recipe resources. In this day and age of recipe prevalence online/electronically, my method is twofold: 1) Electronic Organization and 2) Hard Copy Organization. Basically, here’s how [...]Continue Reading

Welcome to Cocoa Powder 101! Confused by recipes that call for Dutch-process cocoa and wonder how on earth it is different from “regular” or natural, unsweetened cocoa powder? Never fear! I’m here to help unravel the mystery behind cocoa powder in plain terms. Let’s get started. I’ve called in (er, quoted) a few experts to [...]Continue Reading

Do I have any other panini lovers out there? Ever since receiving this little gem* as a gift a couple of months ago, paninis have made a happy appearance for dinner at least every other week, if not weekly, in our home. Something about pressing a sandwich together to form a gooey, hot, [...]Continue Reading

I love giving cookies as a treat/gift but at this time of year when friends and neighbors may or may not be overloaded with generous cookie plates and trays, what is better than bestowing a tin of cookie dough – ready to be baked in an instant – to them instead! This way, they can [...]Continue Reading